Is There a Dominion Mandate? Response

I appreciate Darek Isaacs’s paper (Isaacs 2013),
because his alternative position causes both deeper
reflection and discussion about a topic important
to me. I have spent the better part of my life in the
outdoors; camping, hiking, backpacking, and teaching
wilderness survival skills. As a wildlife ecologist I
have handled animals from flying squirrels to bats;
bullfrogs to rattlesnakes; and wolves to bears, so I do
not speak as one who is “insulated behind the nonbiting
pages of books and non-lethal pixels of computer
screens” (Isaacs 2013, p. 4). Mr. Isaacs and I have
many points of agreement and he does a thorough job
outlining the major theological issues below:

God created all things very good.

Adam was given dominion over the animal kind
and they recognized that dominion.

The overall biblical meaning of dominion (Hebrew:
rādâ) is accurate.

That God did not command us to command.

There was no struggle with the Creation prior
to the Fall because God made everything “very
good.”

The struggle man has with nature is a consequence
of the Fall.

Our relationships with creatures have negatively
changed since the Fall.

Messiah claimed victory at the Cross and for those
who give their life to him; they are transferred
from the dominion of death to the dominion of
Messiah.

Satan has limited control on this planet but greater
is He that is in us (as believers) than he who is in
the world (1 John 4:4).

That through faith in Messiah, it is possible to
operate within His Dominion.

Where Mr. Isaacs and I disagree is his position
that the dominion mandate is no longer applicable,
especially with unbelievers, and his narrow
application of the word “dominion.” I can only speak
for myself, but I have never understood dominion as
humans having complete victory and domination in
this world or that creatures must bow in submission
to mankind. In my opinion, this is an extremely
narrow application of rādâ and therefore the plethora
of examples used to bolster his argument is only
relevant if his narrow definition is correct. I agree
that Adam’s (man’s) dominion and relationship with
both animals and the environment have negatively
changed drastically since the Fall. But the changed
relationships do not necessarily mean that ruling
over the creatures of the earth is no longer applicable
for today. Within the biblical definition of the word,
having dominion or prevailing can be argued at a
larger scale than discussing how animals or natural
disasters kill individual people. There is no question
that when I work with animals, I need to play by their
rules, so that I don’t get hurt and I don’t hurt them.
But with the proper safety procedures and human
technology even the most dangerous creatures, like
the polar bear or tiger, can be completely subdued
so that their general health can be appraised and/or
radio collars applied.

Part of his argument was to be cautious with
regard to what it means to be made in God’s image
and likeness. It is true that exploring that concept has
been pondered by people for centuries, because God
does not detail all that bearing His image entails.
However, it is possible to compare and contrast God’s
revealed attributes with men. As image bearers
of Christ, isn’t it consistent, with finite human
dominion, that people can spend time thinking, care
for the people and creatures that share this planet,
have eternal spirits, imagine abstract ideas, design
and create useful tools from those ideas, and then use
those tools to safely (for both animal and researcher)
render a polar bear, elephant, or lion incapable of
harming them? Why would an ecologist go to these
lengths with an animal? It is because they care about
them. Why do they care? In most cases it is because
man’s ungodly dominion has globally affected their
well-being, including the biggest and strongest. It is
probable that man has been a primary factor in the
extinction of many creatures that once walked the
earth. If we have the technological know-how and
power to affect the very existence of creatures and
ecosystems on the planet, we also have the power to
help them. Is that not considered limited dominion
(ruling or prevailing)? Depending on how you look at
the outcome (that is, causing extinction or bringing
back animals from extinction) the bigger picture
shows a broader definition of rādâ as a prevailing
over the survival outcome of a particular species
or ecosystem, and would seem apropos here. These
activities happen every day and mostly by people who
are unbelievers.

Why would the following not be considered
examples of dominion, both good and bad?

With the proper understanding and management
techniques, ecologists can prevail over the death
and disease of unhealthy forests and make them
productive and healthy again.

In countries with proper medical treatment,
human research has produced medicines that have
prevailed against many scourges of history like
malaria, small pox, and yellow fever that wiped
out people by the millions. As image bearers does
this not reflect God’s compassion and desire to
minimize suffering in a fallen world?

Many environmental naturalists think humans are
the scourge of the globe because they detrimentally
prevail over many organisms and cause global
endangerment, extinction, and pollution events.
They see an unfair advantage in mankind and are
worried that we will destroy the planet.

Communities have harnessed energy from the sun,
waterfalls, oil, natural gas, and geothermic activity
in order to provide easy access to energy for people.
This form of energy has helped people prevail
against the hardships and heartaches of living in
squalid, post-Fall survival conditions, where only
fire was used as a heat, cooking, and light source.

Many communities have eliminated wild animal
threats and have tamed the local environment
enough to be mostly safe for children to play in.

There is no question that parasitism (long-term
relationships between two separate organisms
resulting in one being harmed while the other
benefits) is a constant agricultural battle when
trying to produce healthy crops. But long-term
mutual relationships where both organisms benefit
are far more common, such as the soil dwelling
mycorrhizal fungus relationships with plants.
Researchers have learned to use these relationships
in order to bioremediate lands destroyed by
chemical pollution (Hennigan 2009).

The purpose of this response is not to provide an
exhaustive rebuttal but to bring a biblical balance to
the definition of dominion as applied in today’s world.
Man is definitely unique to this planet, and whether
he knows it or not, can wreak great havoc or great
good on a global scale. This is consistent, not with an
absolute or infinite dominion, but limited dominion
as image bearers of God.

The purpose of the church is to love one another
in unity and to reflect that love to the unbelievers
around us. In my experience one of the most difficult
people groups to reach include the evolutionary,
environmental naturalists. They see a problem with
man’s dominion over the planet, and are genuinely
concerned with how man’s power has the capability
of wreaking extinctions and other havoc on a global
scale. What an opportunity it is for biblical creation
researchers, who are believers in Christ, to share
the biblical basis for man’s place on earth with these
unbelievers. As we mirror the Creator and rule
(while understanding our limitations) let us do it for
the purposes of bringing increasing order, vitality,
fruitfulness, and diversity to the earth, for the glory
of God.

Answers Research Journal

2013 Volume 6

Cutting-edge creation research. Free. Answers Research Journal (ARJ) is a professional, peer-reviewed technical journal for the publication of interdisciplinary scientific and other relevant research from the perspective of the recent Creation and the global Flood within a biblical framework.

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